


A Tale of Unrest

by midnight_penguins



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Insomniac!Patton, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 10:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16061201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_penguins/pseuds/midnight_penguins
Summary: A Patton insomnia au!





	A Tale of Unrest

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Insomniac!Patton](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/419027) by ironwoman359. 



It was now five am. Patton sighed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go to bed a regular time like the rest of the sides did. It was more like he couldn’t, no matter how much he wanted to. Most nights he just gave up on sleep and watched Parks and Rec until everyone else was up. He would just chug coffee and hope for the best. At this point there was probably more coffee than blood in his veins. Patton wasn’t sure when it had started;it may have started after they did the Christmas video with Thomas. All he knew was now it had been two weeks since he had gotten a good night’s sleep. Patton always thought that tonight would be the night that he would finally get a few hours of sleep. But each night he would be proved wrong.  
Patton looked over at his alarm clock;it now said six am. Soon Logan, Virgil, and Roman would be out and about. He got up from his bed and went into the kitchen to make himself some coffee. As Patton made his coffee, Logan walked into the kitchen looking very awake.  
“Morning kiddo!” Patton said cheerfully.  
“Good morning Patton,” Logan said. Logan went over to the fridge to make himself cereal. Once Logan had gotten his food, he went to go sit at the table.  
Patton looked down at his coffee and grimaced. No matter how many times he made it, it still tasted horrible. It didn’t matter though; as long as none of the sides knew he was exhausted, it was worth the grimy taste. Patton just hoped no one noticed the very dark circles under his eyes. Just as Patton sat down with his coffee and his toast, Virgil and Roman walked in, looking equally tired. They mumbled their greetings and went to get cereal. Patton resigned himself to another long day.

* * *

Virgil walked into the commons. He was about to go to bed but he wanted to get some water first. It was there where he saw Patton sitting on the couch with the TV playing quietly. Why was Patton still awake? It was nearly midnight!

“...Patton?”  
Patton turned, eyes wide.  
“Yeah Virgil?”  
“Is there a reason you’re still up? It’s almost midnight,” Virgil said gently.  
“Oh Virgil!! There was a Great British Bake-Off marathon tonight! I had to stay to watch it;they have fifteen episodes centered around cookies! Do you want to join me?” Patton said enthusiastically.  
“Nah, I’m good Patton. I’ll see you in the morning,” Virgil said. Virgil left and went upstairs, slightly confused. Maybe this would make more sense in the morning.  
Patton breathed a sigh of relief. That was a really close call. He would have to be more careful in the future.

* * *

  
The next day, it was Roman who found Patton still up at one in the morning.  
Patton had just passed it off as losing track of time because he was watching The Incredibles and The Incredibles 2. Luckily, Roman bought it. Roman was also a huge Disney fan, so that had probably helped a lot. He didn’t want the other sides to worry about him. They had enough of Thomas’s problems to deal with. They didn’t need to deal with his problems. Patton would rather let them think he was just more energetic than usual then tell them the truth. Each day it was a little harder to put up the front. Patton would just drink at least two cups of coffee. It was better this way, he thought. His mind and body had to give up sometime. Maybe it would be tonight.

It didn’t give up that night. It didn’t give up the next couple of nights either.

* * *

 

“Patton. Patton,” Logan waved a hand in front of Patton’s face. Patton snapped to attention.  
“What is it kiddo?” Patton hoped they weren’t talking about anything too important.  
“We’re coming up with ideas for Thomas’s videos. Did you have any ideas? We’d want it to involve his friends,” Logan said as he looked over at him expectantly.  
“How about Jenga combined with Monopoly?” Patton winced. That was not his best idea. It had been a month since Patton had gotten any sleep. At this point, his mind was foggy pretty much all the time. Logan looked at him funnily and just sighed.  
“Hey Patton?” Patton looked up,his eyes blinking. _Who had said that?_  
“Patton,” Logan said. _What were they supposed to be talking about again?_  
“We were just talking about adding some furniture to the commons;do you have any inputs?” Patton tried to think of something but he couldn’t. He was just too tired. Patton shook his head and smiled earnestly. Logan eyebrows shot up but he said nothing. Patton was just being spacey as usual.

* * *

 

It had now been six weeks without sleep for Patton. He was sitting on the couch, at three am, still awake. _Why couldn’t he just sleep??_ His eyes filled with tears. He didn’t notice Virgil standing in the corner. He didn’t notice Virgil walking over to him, too exhausted to notice anything at all.

“Patton?” _Shit._ Patton looked over to his side and saw Virgil sitting next to him. Patton wiped the tears from his eyes vigorously.

“Patton? Are you okay?” Virgil asked softly. Patton shook his head slowly. He couldn’t keep up the facade anymore. He was just too tired.

“I can’t sleep, Virge, I just can’t. I’ve been trying for weeks and weeks but I can’t. Why can’t I fucking sleep??” At the tail end of his sentence, Patton broke off into a sob. Virgil put his arms around Patton and held him close.

“Hey. You’re okay. You’ll get through this,” Virgil whispered, “I’ve got you. We will fucking get through this. Together-with me, Roman and Logan.” Patton took a deep breath and nodded against Virgil’s hoodie. Patton held on to Virgil tightly and let the other side comfort him.

* * *

Now that Virgil knew, Patton felt slightly better but he was still worried about what Logan and Roman would think. And what would happen when they found out. It was about ten o’clock in the morning. For some reason, Logan had asked Patton to meet him in the kitchen. Patton couldn’t really remember why. He looked up from the table as Logan walked in and sat down at the table with him.

“Patton. It has come to my attention that you have been having trouble sleeping of late and now have insomnia. Over the past couple of days, I didn’t realize that you were having trouble and so I apologize for thinking that you were spacey. I have compiled a list of ways to help prevent insomnia,” Logan said and then placed a list on the table.  
It said:  
Keep your bedtime and wake time consistent from day to day, including weekends.  
Stay active — regular activity helps promote a good night's sleep.  
Check your medications to see if they may contribute to insomnia.  
Avoid or limit naps.  
Avoid or limit caffeine and alcohol, and don't use nicotine.  
Avoid large meals and beverages before bedtime.  
Make your bedroom comfortable for sleep and only use it for sex or sleep.  
Create a relaxing bedtime ritual, such as taking a warm bath, reading or listening to soft music.  
Get all your worrying over with before you go to bed.  
Reduce stress.  
Consider participating in cognitive therapy.  
Patton looked up at Logan, smiling, his eyes welling up with tears.  
“Thank you.” Patton said softly. He got up and walked over to Logan.  
“Is it satisfactory?” Logan asked with apprehension. Patton nodded and hugged Logan with conviction. Logan smiled with relief.

* * *

  
Only Roman didn’t know that Patton had insomnia. He wasn’t quite sure what would happen when Roman found out.  
“Aha! There are you are Patton!” Patton looked up from the table wearily. Roman grinned at him from the stairwell, looking slightly worse for wear. His princely outfit was slightly torn and he had some dirt on his face. Roman also had some scratches on his face and arms.  
“Roman?? Why are your clothes torn? Are you okay, kiddo?” Patton asked, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Patton walked over to the stairwell where Roman was.  
“All will be explained, my dear Patton! You haven’t been sleeping well lately, so I went adventuring into my realm. I talked with witches and sorcerers and I fought with a witch-dragon! That’s why I’m so beat up, by the way. The witches gave me potions and the sorcerer’s gave me elixirs. I fought the witch-dragon for the coziest blanket of all time. I hope that at least one of these will work,” Roman said sincerely. Patton smiled gratefully and hugged Roman tightly.  
“Thank you,” Patton said fondly. A single tear rolled down Patton’s cheek.

* * *

  
Patton walked over to Roman’s room. The other sides had asked him to meet him there, but he wasn’t sure why. He opened the door and- there were pillows everywhere. And blankets. Virgil, Logan, and Roman were all in their pajamas. On Roman’s king-sized bed, there was even more blankets and pillows. On the night desk, there were several of the potion and elixirs that Roman had brought back from his realm. They were all waiting for him.  
“What’s going on?” Patton asked tentatively.  
“We were hoping you would cuddle with us. It might help you sleep and it would be nice,” Virgil said, blushing a little bit.  
“And if you wanted to take one of the potions or elixirs, you could if you want.” Roman added. Patton looked at all of them and nodded, smiling.  
They all got onto the bed,with Roman and Logan on the outside and Virgil and Patton on the inside. Roman’s legs draped over Virgil’s legs. Logan’s legs draped over Patton’s legs. Patton was nuzzled slightly in the corner of Virgil’s chest. Patton was holding hands with Logan. Patton drunk the potion, and as the potion took effect he looked at the other sides. He had been so terrified of them finding out. When they found out, they had looked at him with nothing but love and support. Patton loved them all so much. Here he was,surrounded by his boyfriends and he couldn’t feel more content. Patton closed his eyes and smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources about insomnia:  
> https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167 
> 
> https://www.webmd.com/women/guide/insomnia-tips


End file.
